


Re:Zero The Viewing

by RenzoRenzoRenzo



Category: Re:ゼロから始める異世界生活 | Re:Zero Starting Life in Another World (Anime)
Genre: Other, RBD, Return by Death (Re:Zero), Subaru Dies, Subaru suffers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-01
Updated: 2020-12-12
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:01:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,782
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27811930
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RenzoRenzoRenzo/pseuds/RenzoRenzoRenzo
Summary: Emilia, Beatrice, Ram, and Julius awake in a room. An ornate door is opened before them. They see a familiar body, bloodied and prone; gasping for air. They will see Subaru's moments before death.
Comments: 16
Kudos: 132





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone,
> 
> Unfortunately, the first two or three chapters are kind of low-quality. Writing gets better at the fourth and fifth chapter. This was imported from FanFiction.net.

In a dimly lit room, an ornate door was illuminated by white light. A bouquet of seven flowers sat in a vase on top of a marble pedestal stood between the quartet.

“Where are we?” Emilia asked Beatrice.

“A room, I suppose.” Beatrice stood still, her eyes transfixed on the door ahead. 

Ram and Julius slowly came to. The two of them joined Emilia and Beatrice.

“I have no recollection of getting here. We must be vigilant.” Julius grabbed the hilt of his sword.

“This doesn’t look like a room in the mansion.” Ram slowly approached the door.

“It’s good to see that you’re all well. Where is Subaru?” Emilia worriedly looked around the room.

A sharp mechanical click, then a blunt thud emanated from the door. The door slowly creaked open to reveal an unknown body under bright light amidst a black room.

“Everyone, please stay here.” Julius drew his sword and slowly approached the body across the door. 

As Julius cautiously approaches the body, the details of its condition would slowly come to be. A pool of blood and entrails littered the floor, seeping between the tiles. The boy grasps his innards in futility, gasping for air that never fills his lungs.

“Natsuki!” Julius rushed towards his friend in a panic. He knelt down and tried to put pressure on the gaping wound.

“What!?” the three frantically sprinted towards the dying Subaru. 

Beatrice and Emilia tried desperately to heal Subaru, but the wounds would not close. Ram took the open hand of Subaru and tried to comfort him.

“It’s not working! Beatrice!” 

“Betty is trying! The wound is not closing!”

“Please Beatrice! Save him!”

“Betty is trying! I will not let my contractor die!”

Subaru’s breathing became rapid and in short succession. The blood curdling in his throat made it all the more violent and difficult to watch. Subaru’s terrified face slowly became vapid. His struggle was no more. He has died.

“It’s done...” Julius let go of the wound.

Ram slowly let go of Subaru’s hand. “I’m sorry miss Emilia. Subaru has passed.” She looked away from the unsightly corpse. “I’m sorry, Barusu…”

“Subaru! Hey! Please- Beatrice! Save him!” Emilia, using her magic trying to close the gaping wound could only beg for help. Tears fell down her cheeks onto Subaru.

Beatrice looked at the corpse of her contractor with shock and deep sadness. She knelt down beside the boy and cried her heart out.

“No… Subaru… Don’t leave me…” Emilia placed her hand on the bloodied cheek of her most precious person.

“I’m sorry Miss Emilia. There’s nothing else we can do.” Julius stood up and looked away from Subaru.

Emilia rested her head on Subaru, weeping.

**“I will definitely… Save you.”**

“Subaru!?” Emilia looked up only to see darkness.

The quartet looked around in search of the impossibility that Subaru was still alive. 

“This may be a trick. Be ready.” Julius readied himself, as did Ram.

The light drew away from Subaru and the bereaved. It trailed its way onto the distance, illuminating Subaru with a bag in his hand walking towards a shabby shack.

“Subaru!” Emilia got up to run towards Subaru.

“Emilia, wait!” Julius chased after her.

As much as Emilia ran towards Subaru, she never got any closer. She stopped as she ran out of breath, allowing the three to catch up to Emilia. 

“I can’t… reach him…” Emilia crumpled to her knees.

“Please do not run off like that Miss Emilia.” Ram said sharply.

“That’s Subaru, isn’t it?” asked Julius.

“There’s no way it is. Barusu is dead.”

“This must be a foul apparition, I suppose.” Beatrice wiped her tears.

“That house… that’s the house I met Subaru in...”

**“Ah…”**

The scene follows Subaru opening the door. A lonely severed arm greeted him. Then a leg. Then half a body.

“What is-!?” Emilia gasped.

“Behind you Subaru!” Julius could only shout at this scene.

**“―Aah, you saw it. I have no choice then. Yes, no choice at all.”**

With a quick slash, Subaru was tossed to the wall. Blood violently poured through his tracksuit.

“No!” the contractor could only look ahead.

“Subaru!” Emilia clasped her mouth. Eyes wide in pure terror at the scene.

“Barusu!”

Julius stood there dumbfounded. He knew he couldn’t do anything to save his friend.

He collapsed on the floor onto his own pool of blood. A new figure entered the gored house. 

“What-!?”

**“Subaru…?”**

“Miss Emilia?” Julius looked towards the shaken Emilia.

“I don’t remember this!” Emilia shouted.

**“No… wait…”**

Subaru could only whisper these words, unable to reach Emilia.

Thud.

Emilia fell at arms length of Subaru’s corpse. Subaru, in his last dying moments, reached out to Emilia.

**“I will definitely… save you”**

Death had taken Subaru.

Blackness overtook the grisly stage.

The four did not move from their place. Emilia, shocked and horrified by the events that were displayed, looked onward at the gruesome scene.

“This… this never happened… Felt and the old man were alive when I came in! I… I don’t remember this!” Emilia tried to make sense of it all. But the scene denied her of this comfort.

Beatrice collapsed down to her knees, trembling and trying to understand what all this meant. She could not help him this time. She was helpless. “I don’t understand…” she mumbled as her tears lined her cheeks.

Julius still looked towards the blackness that was the scene. He could only grimace. 

Ram looked towards in shock. No words or tears were given.


	2. Chapter 2

**Re:Zero The Viewing**

**Chapter 2**

A light illuminated the way ahead. Another door stood in their way. 

Julius looked ahead.

"It seems that we must continue. There's nothing left for us here." 

"Subaru died!" Emilia shot back at Julius with a mournful frown. Tears were clearly outlined on her cheeks.

"Miss Emilia, we know that Barusu was important to you. But knight Julius is right. We cannot stay here." Ram tried her best not to show emotion.

"Let us rest for a while, I suppose." her eyes still wet, Beatrice tried to calm herself down. She wanted to gain some composure. But, Subaru's death was still affixed in her mind.

Ram and Julius caved in. As much as the two did not want to dwell on what happened, forcing the bereaved to move was something they had the heart not to do.

"Did… that really happen?" Emilia weakly asked.

"I'm… not sure. It looked all too real. But it doesn't make sense if it were." Julius was grasping at any kind of semblance to reason. This was not an ordinary circumstance. None of what was shown added up to their present.

"Barusu…" Ram whispered quietly while staring into the void behind them.

"He couldn't have died there… what does this all mean? Beatrice… do you--"

"I don't know. Betty is trying to figure it out." a sharp response was thrown by Beatrice. Emilia looked down in dejection.

The light above them started to dim.

"It's time." Julius looked at the group with a sympathetic, but firm look.

It was time to move on.

The four trudged along the illuminated path towards the next door. The sound of a lock unlocking sounded off as they approached the door. As soon as they were only a few steps away, the door opened for them. As soon as all four walked across, the door shuts closed. A light illuminates them. Another scene confronts them.

"Subaru!" Emilia shouted in vain.

The familiar loot house and its actors were all present. The old man lay dead faced down on the floor missing his arm, and a pool of blood gushing out from the wound. Felt, who was torn in two lay adjacent to the beautiful woman that towered over Subaru.

"That's Elsa!" Emilia looked horrified. This was the same as before.

The four could only look at the grisly scene. 

**"The old man and the girl have both fallen, and yet you still haven’t moved. Maybe you’ve given up?”**

Subaru, shaking, stood up to face this monster. His face contorted with fear and anger. 

**“Ah, you’ve finally stood up. You’re late, and rather dull, but not bad.”**

Subaru charges her. 

**“That’s no good at all.”**

Elsa spun and elbowed Subaru in the face, and kicked him to the shelves. He bleeds and cringes in pain. But Subaru stood up. He charges again.

**“Simply pathetic. You’re evidently a novice and your moments are unrefined. You possess neither divine protection nor skill, and you weren’t even able to think up any sort of strategy. Why even bother trying?”**

**“Shut up… I’ve got my stubbornness too… After you’ve gone and done all this.”**

**“I’ll admit you’ve got outstanding spirit. If you’d drawn it out earlier, perhaps things could have ended differently for these two.”**

Subaru looked at the massacre around him. There was no escaping this.

**“Let’s end this. I’ll be sending you to the angels.”**

Elsa disappeared from his sight. 

**"Wha-"**

Subaru swiftly delivered a counter blow. But it was futile.

**"Ahh~ I felt that one."**

Subaru took two steps before collapsing; his blood and guts joined the viscera on the floor. He weakly tries to put it all back inside but- 

"No!" Emilia watched in horror.

"Subaru!" Beatrice had to watch her contractor die a horrific death.

"Barusu!" Ram couldn't hold back from this sight. 

Julius stood silent at the outcome. He gritted his teeth, and looked at the scene with anger and disgust.

**“Are you surprised? I split your stomach when we passed by one another. This happens to be my specialty.”**

Subaru looked up at Elsa with utter fear and anger.

**“Aah, your bowels truly do have such a lovely color, just as I thought.”**

Subaru's mouth opens and closes erratically as if he were trying to say something, or express something.

**“Does it hurt? Are you suffering? Is it hard? Are you sad? Wanna die?”**

Subaru gripped his killer's ankle. 

**"But it’d be a shame to make it too easy.”**

A slash sliced both of his eyes, forever blinding him. He could only hear the evil that spoke to him.

**“Slowly, slowly, slowly, slowly, slowly, writhe around.”**

Her voice, like a twisted lullaby, sung him to sleep. Subaru tried to scream, but could not. His face would speak for his voice that would not work; he spoke of fear, sorrow and regret, anger and desperation, and-- salvation at last. 

Natsuki Subaru has died.

The light dims upon the stage.

“Su..baru…” Emilia took a step forward. One hand covered her mouth in shock, and the other, feebly reaching out to Subaru. 

Ram shut her eyes. She tried to keep her composure, but her outline quivered as if trying to hold back.

“What foulness is this…” Julius stood firm. He felt anger, but he did not move. He was horrified, but he did not blink. He was saddened, but did not cry. 

Beatrice did what Julius did not. 

“Why! What is this!?” her face distorts in fury. She could not bear the sight. She looks away. “Subaru is… he couldn’t have...” She was at a loss of words. She wanted answers, but would receive none. Beatrice could only cry at this terrible outcome.

“I… don’t understand. This- none of this- has happened. I know this for sure!” Emilia tried her best to piece together the chain of events. 

“Miss Emilia?”

“None of this happened… I’m sure of that. There was no way I died, and Subaru is still with us.” She tries to reaffirm herself.

“When I got to the loot house, everyone was still alive- that’s where I first met Subaru.”

“And you’re certain?” Julius looked at Emilia with a serious look.

“For the most part, yes.”

Ram looked on eagerly at the conversation. She took comfort at the possibility that none of these events happened. But the foul scene still gripped her mind.

Another pathway was lit, and another door lay at the end. There was no solace to be had. There was no time to mourn, or to collect their thoughts. The onslaught continues.

Emilia took the first step forward.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hey everyone, thanks for reading again.

I’ll try to update with one or two deaths per week.


	3. Chapter 3

As the four move closer to the door, Emilia, Ram, and Beatrice recognize the door.

"This is one of the mansion's doors." Ram furrowed her brow as the group made its causeous approach.

As usual, the door makes a mechanical click as they walk closer. The sound echoes throughout the dark room. 

They were steps away from the door, but the door did not open as it normally did. Emilia extends her hand for the door handle, but stops moments before touching it. She felt that if she opened this door, another tragedy would befall them. All her strength she had mustered dissipates before the door.

"Open it, I suppose." 

"Miss Emilia?" Julius stood beside her. 

"Subaru might…" her eyes pained at the thought.

"Sir Julius, please open the door." Ram did not want Emilia to open the door. She had a bad feeling about what is on the other side of the door.

Julius nodded, and asked Emilia to join the two behind them. He asked for the three to step back further for the possibility that this may get dangerous. Braced for the worst, he placed his hand on the handle and opened the door.

**"AAAUUUGHHH--!!"**

"What-!?" Julius lunged back.

Subaru let out an anguishing scream. He rolled around in his puddle of blood.

"Subaru!" 

Emilia led the way; Beatrice, and Ram followed soon after.

A sound of chains could be heard.

Just as Emilia was about to reach the door-

SPLAT

Subaru ceased to struggle.

The look of pure terror was shared in unison. 

Beatrice looked away as soon as the morningstar left Subaru's head. She fell on her knees and let out a silent sob.

Emilia screamed. Trembling at the sight, she could not mutter a word. She slid down the side of the door. She stared at Subaru, as his eye stared back.

Ram's eyes trembled with horror and fear as she stared at Subaru's corpse. Her mouth open ajar, but no sound came out.

Julius looked down at the mess of gore and grimaced.

"Miss Emilia, please turn away." Julius spoke with a soft tone. He placed his hand on her shoulder.

Emilia started to sob at the sight. She could not hold back the terror, grief, loss, and confusion she felt. 

"Miss Emilia… please come this way." Julius helped Emilia up and led her to their side of the door, well away from the gruesome sight.

"I… I can't." Emilia spoke in between her sobs.

Beatrice was still sitting on the ground, her face was tilted down, still turned away from the door. No sound came from her but her soft crying. Her body quivered after each sniffle.

Ram, as shocked as she was, could do nothing but think. She tries to remember, but some memories were a blur. As far as she remembered, her supposed sister 'Rem', Emilia, Beatrice, and Roswaal were the only ones who work in the mansion. She ruled out 'Rem' as the culprit, as Barusu was as close to 'Rem' as he was with Emilia. Beatrice at this time did not leave the room, and she knew that Emilia would never have done this to Subaru. The only suspects in her mind were either Roswaal, or an intruder. 

The door creaked shut behind them. No one noticed, as they were too preoccupied with the recent events.

"How horrible..." Julius turned his gaze back at the door.

Though the initial shock had come to pass, the brutality of the scene was ingrained in their minds.

Emilia continued to sob like a child. 

"Subaru…" 

The image of the eye that stared back at her suddenly rolls into her mind.

She sharply inhales. Terror was written on her face.

"I don't want to do this! I don't want to… This is too much… I - " 

All eyes turned at Emilia.

"I don't understand... "

Julius did not know what to say. Ram looked at Emilia, but was too caught up in her own assumptions about who the culprit could have been. Beatrice sat in silence, almost glaring at Emilia.

Emilia sat hugging her knees together with her head tucked behind them. She repeated his name, in between her sobbing.

The sights and sounds of Subaru's death finally broke down Emilia.

Julius and Ram looked on in pity. Beatrice looked down in frustration.

"Miss Emilia, we don't know if this really happened." Julius spoke in a soft tone.

Emilia had not moved.

"I don't know what to do…" Emilia whispered into her knees, as if to hide her shame.

Beatrice regains her composure. She gets up and walks towards the group.

"We really don't know if these events did happen, I suppose." She turns her head slightly down, with a frustrated look on her face. She could not make eye contact with anyone. She did not have all the answers.

Julius and Ram turned their heads towards Beatrice.

"Beatrice…?" Emilia lifted her head up. Her knees covered half her face.

"These events took place in the past. The mansion is already burnt down, I suppose." 

The statement garnered the attention of the three. Emilia's fatigued face looks towards beatrice.

"Subaru was the one to force Betty out of her library by burning it along with the mansion, I suppose." 

"What does this mean, Miss Beatrice?" Ram looked eagerly at Beatrice.

"If the mansion is still there, that means Subaru did not burn it down yet." A slight pause was given by Beatrice. "This did not happen because the mansion and my library are still there in that scene, I suppose"

The three looked at Beatrice with curiosity.

"So… this never happened?" Emilia looked at Beatrice with hope.

"... Betty doesn't know, I suppose." Beatrice closed her eyes with a frown.

Emilia took some comfort in this, somewhat loosely helping her come to terms with whatever reality was displayed before them through every door.

A slight comfort was shared among the group, though not enough to completely relieve them of their concerns or trauma.

A moment of pause was given to regain their sanity and strength. 

The door creaks open.

"No…" Emilia looked away. Beatrice had turned away as well.

Ram turned her body towards the door, but could not look directly at it.

Julius took the first steps forward as he took off his knight's coat.

"Sir Julius?"

Julius hesitated. "... Let me at least cover his body." He continued to walk. His footsteps echoed through the darkness. He reaches the door, ready to open it. He pauses, grits his teeth, and readies himself for the sight.

Subaru's body was no longer there. No traces of blood were seen on the hallway. A welcome sight for Julius.

"Is everything alright Sir Julius?"

Ram asks.

Emilia and Beatrice turn towards Julius.

"The body… it's gone." Julius places his hand on his sword, ready to draw if anything unwelcome were to approach.

"Lady Emilia, Lady Beatrice, we must follow sir Julius." 

The three walk towards Julius. 


	4. Chapter 4

Julius cautiously walked forward through the door. He looks to both ends of the hallway. Nothing. The grip he had on his sword loosens. As his tension faded, he finally let go of the hilt. He swung his knightly coat elegantly over his shoulders.

The hall in which their friend met his end left no trace of the carnage. Moonlight adorns the hallway with its dull, hazy white gaze. The walls which the light touches emits a light bluish hue; a stark contrast to the blood which once smeared it. No sound could be heard in this hallway. Everything appeared peaceful.

Julius looked towards the disheveled trio which stood behind the door. The moonlight illuminated them from the black backdrop they stood in. "It's alright." Julius beckons them to follow. The three stepped forward across the doorway to meet Julius. As the last person who stepped out of the darkness and entered the hallway, the door closed gently.

Emilia looked around. Not a single picture frame, flower vase, or furniture piece seemed out of place. It was a welcome pause for the four to have. A break from death, however brief it may be, was appreciated. Emilia however, could not feel all at ease. She looked down and held her arms. They stood exactly where Subaru had died. A feeling of uneasiness gripped her

"Another scene, I suppose." Beatrice, the first to break the silence, spoke in a somber tone. The four felt unnerved at the possibility of another scene to take place.

"We need to find a way out of here." Julius spoke in a stern voice. The three looked at Julius. “It is obviously not safe here.” Under the cover of darkness, Julius led them from scene to scene. He was a strong individual, and everyone knew that. But, under the moonlight, Julius’ face displayed clearly what he was trying to hide: the stress of the situation that had taken its toll on him.

Emilia looked Julius in the eyes. "What about Subaru?" her face took Julius off guard.

"Well, he's… I'm sure we'll find him - but should find a way out first." He uncharacteristically stumbles on his words. He regains his bearings as fast as he lost it."We won't be able to help him if we can't find a way out."

With a shaky tone, Ram spoke. "Sir Julius is right. Let's head to the entrance of the mansion." 

"Eager to escape, I suppose." Beatrice looked at Ram with a frown. She points down to the ground where Subaru was.

"We need answers, and maybe he's got them, I suppose." 

Emilia looked at Beatrice with a modest smile. Ram and Julius looked away in shame. Of course, Ram and Julius did not want to abandon Subaru, but their circumstances were strange. The questions of where they are, how they got there, and who summoned them to this hellish reality was still left unanswered. They didn't even know if Subaru was summoned along with them. 

"Perhaps you are right, miss Beatrice." Julius closed his eyes and shook his head. "I shouldn't be swayed by my emotions, not when a friend seems like he's in trouble." He squares himself up, and stands upright. He looked to Ram. "We may have been in the wrong."

Ram nods courteously. "I'm sorry for my rashness." She bows.

"There's no need for apologies. We're all scared. It's only normal." Emilia spoke softly to the bowing Ram. Emilia looked to Julius and nodded to continue her forgiveness. She didn’t expect them to always keep a level head. 

Ram stood up straight and nodded as if to thank Emilia. Julius shyly smiled.

In a determined voice, Julius would garner the attention of the three before him. "Whatever happens next, we have to stay strong." 

The three nodded in silence. 

As if the hall itself was listening and waiting for its cue, a sound of a door unlocking rung at the end of the hallway. The hinges creak ever so slightly, almost as to beckon the group to move closer.

The sound gained the attention of all four. Uneasiness filled the hallway. The peaceful silence that they felt turned deafening. Julius frowns, and makes his move towards the door.

He makes it halfway to the door, only for Emilia to shout. “Wait!” 

Julius pauses his advance. He turns to Emilia and the group.

She spoke in a soft tone, almost trembling. “Do… we have to?” Dread was written on Emilia’s face.

“We must be strong, miss Emilia.” Julius smiles at her. “The doors always lead to Subaru - “ he pauses and frowns at the implication. The implication being that the door opening usually meant one thing: Subaru’s death. He continued with a somber voice. “He may be alive this time.” 

Beatrice surprises everyone as she was the first to follow Julius. As she walked, she spoke in her regular haughty tone. “The knight is right, I suppose. Subaru is definitely alive, and he is definitely somewhere here. We’d better find him quick, I suppose.” Ram was next to follow.

“Come, miss Emilia.” Ram spoke as she walked towards Julius and Beatrice. “The sooner we save Barusu, the sooner we can leave.” 

Emilia looks at the three. She looks down to where she stood, recalling the sight of Subaru’s body. “Be strong.” She whispered to herself. Gathering her courage, she joined the three.


	5. Chapter 5

Julius placed his hand on the door, ready to push it open. He looked back at the group. A mixture of emotions could be seen, but none more prevalent than that of anxiety. All eyes were on him. He nodded, and braced himself for the worst. The door creaked as he pushed the door open. 

The setting sun tints the green glade its orange hue. It was clear that no thoroughfare was present, as the thick grass covered the field continuously from end to end. The four were surprised by the impossibility of the scene. Julius, Ram, and Beatrice pass through the door. 

Julius looks around the tranquil forest."I shouldn't be surprised." he muttered.

"Something seems off." Ram looks around. "There's no wind." She points at the trees. No rustling could be heard. In fact, no sound could be heard at all.

"Something definitely is strange about this, I suppose." Beatrice's attention was caught by a bird midway through flying, frozen in mid air. 

Emilia placed her hand on the doorframe as if to lean on it for strength. She looks to where the hall separates from the grass. Fear and anxiety took her. The inner conflict she felt was as clear as day. No words came out of her, but no words were needed for someone to understand what she felt.

Julius looked back at the heistant Emilia. "Miss Emilia?"

No response was given from Emilia. Her eyes were transfixed on where the door's threshold stopped and the grass began. 

Beatrice looked at Emilia with sympathetic eyes. She understood that what she felt for Subaru was about the same in Emilia's case. The prospect of him dying again wasn't a pleasant thought to be shared. "It's best to get this over with, I suppose." 

Emilia hesitates. She felt the fear creep up her spine, but managed to take one step forward. She closed her eyes and took the next step. 

The movement and sounds of the forest could be heard. The canopy swayed with the wind, and rustling of leaves could be heard. The bird continued to fly across the glade towards the canopy. A refreshing wind brushed their faces. 

**"Ahhh!"**

All four looked back, and to their surprise, the door was gone. Not so far from the door in which they left, they saw Subaru on the ground, with his leg an arm’s length ahead of him.

**"AAAAGGHHHH!!! MY LEG!!??"**

"Subaru!?" Emilia shouted. She ran towards Subaru frantically.

He turned his head around ever so slowly, jerking and trembling as he finally turned around. As soon as Emilia was close enough to touch Subaru, he stopped screaming, but the panic and agony was written on his face. Emilia embraces Subaru with tears in her eyes. She felt no breath.

Emilia pushes herself back. “Subaru…?” She looks into his eyes. He doesn’t blink. He stares straight through her.

The three caught up to Emilia. 

Julius rushed and knelt down beside Emilia. “Is he alright!?”

Beatrice took it on herself to tend to the leg, as Ram looked around to see who the culprit was. 

“It’s not closing, I suppose! Wait…” Beatrice looks at the wound. “He’s not bleeding…” She steps back. Emilia and Julius look to her.

In a trembling voice, Emilia asks what they all wanted to know “What do you mean?”

“Please take notice of the trees.” Ram spoke. 

Beatrice furrowed her brows. “Now’s not the time to be sightseeing, I suppose!” she yelled in an annoyed tone.

Julius looked around to inspect the surroundings. “They’ve stopped moving again.” Emilia and Beatrice followed suit.

The once lively forest became still once again. No wind, sound, or movement could be felt, heard, or seen. Emilia, Julius, Ram, and Beatrice were the only ones who could move. Space and time had stopped once again.

“Let’s focus on getting Subaru to safety.” a frantic Emilia got up to pull Subaru out of the clearing. He wouldn’t move. “What?” Emilia pulls again. “I can’t lift him. Sir Julius, please help me.” Julius and Emilia both took to a shoulder and pulled. Subaru couldn’t be moved.

“It’s impossible, I suppose” Beatrice looked at Subaru, her eyebrows still furrowed.

“Beatrice…?” Emilia looked at Beatrice with helpless eyes.

“It’s just like all the other times Subaru had died. We can’t help him, I suppose.” She sighed then closed her eyes. “It seems like our only option is to watch.”

Emilia was about to speak but bit her lip before any words would escape her. She looked back at Subaru. She knelt behind his head. She embraces his head one last time. Her hair hung like a veil, as if to shield him from his inescapable fate. “I’m sorry…”

Julius turned his face aside, as this was the only courtesy he could give the two. Ram looked on mournfully at the two. She knew that nothing could be said to salvage the outcome. 

Beatrice looked at Subaru once again in frustration. “It appears that whatever is doing this won’t continue if we were to interfere.” Her fists clenched as she turned around and walked away. “Let’s get this over with, I suppose.” A few faint words were heard as she finished her explanation: “We’ll find you, I suppose.”

Julius looked at the spirit with a forlorn look. He spoke softly as he asked his question. “Are you sure this is the best course of action?”

Beatrice remained silent as she walked away.

Julius sighs, and looks at Emilia. “Once you’re ready, miss Emilia. I’ll meet you over where miss Beatrice and miss Ram are.” 

Quiet sobbing could be heard from Emilia, but she manages to nod her head. Julius took his leave, and left the two with their privacy.

“Why?” Emilia asked. “What’s going on?” She hugged his head tighter. “How do we help you?” Her voice starts to waver. “Can we help you? How? You have a plan, right?” No answer was given by Subaru. Her words were unreachable. She loosens her grip, and raises her head slowly. “I’m sorry…” she wipes her tears. She got up, and walked dejectedly back to the three. The three couldn’t bear to look at her. As she walked away, Subaru’s screams were heard once more.

**“AAAAGH!”**

She doesn’t look back.

**“GHAAAAAAHH!”**

She doesn’t dare look back.

**“AUUUUGHH!”**

She walks a few more steps then collapses on her knees. She weeps.

Ram, Beatrice and Julius were shocked beyond words. Emilia looks up at the three, to see their attention shift from Subaru to the treeline. Out of the darkness of the trees, a blue haired maid steps to the field and approaches Subaru.

“Is that… Rem…?” Emilia looked at the blue haired maid in relief. 

**“Mana of water, heal this damaged body.”**

Emilia felt that her spirits had risen. She knew that this girl was someone that Subaru had cared for deeply, as much as her even. The possibility that Rem would be able to help him made her weakly smile.

“No…” Julius mutters to himself. He looks at the chains which dragged along behind her, ending with the morningstar that had crushed Subaru’s head.

Beatrice’s face had not changed. She knew that he would die, and had already braced herself for the worst. Her gaze fell upon the Ram’s counterpart, watching her next move.

Ram stood in surprise as the emotions of longing, sadness, confusion, and happiness confronted her at the sight of her supposed sister. A sister which she had forgotten, but Subaru had made a point that they were inseparable. Ram took a good look at her sister’s face, and smiled. As she looked closer, her sister was not. Then, she looked at what she was holding. Then Ram felt fear. “She couldn’t be…” she whispered.

**“If you die so easily, I cannot get any information out of you.”**

“No!” Emilia gasped in horror. She covered her mouth in shock.

The others stood in silence as Rem continued her busy work. She walks towards the knife that Subaru had dropped and picked it up.

**“If you had stabbed me with this, you could have fled a bit further.”**

She threw the knife behind her, and landed in front of Emilia. Emilia looks at the knife in anguish.

**“I ask you this: Are you a member of the faction that supports miss Emilia’s rival for the throne?”**

**“My heart belongs to the beautiful Emilia forever-”**

Rem whips her chains at Subaru. Emilia could only look in shock, she couldn’t believe the words that Subaru had spoken. His devout love for her added on to the burden she felt.

**“AAAGGGH!”**

“Stop…” Emilia looked down once again.

**“Who hired you, and under what conditions?”**

**“The angelic Emilia’s beautiful smile, and it was priceless-”**

The chains flayed Subaru.

**“AAAUUUGH!”**

He screams in agony. He looks around as if to search for someone. His tortured face looked at the four by chance, as he rested and tried to recover from the pain.

“Stop… please…”

A cold glare of malice was given by Rem.

**“Are you affiliated with the witch’s cult?”**

Ram was surprised by her sister’s question. She remembered the slaughter of her village, and the extinction of her people.

Julius was taken aback by this. He questions why she would ask this. He knew that Subaru was the key to taking down Sloth and the Whale. He narrowed his eyes and cringed at the scene. 

**“The witch’s cult...? I don’t know what that is… My family has been secular for generations-”**

**“Don’t play dumb with me! Your bald-faced lies can only take you so far when the stench of the witch is heavy on you!”**

Rem looks down at Subaru with hate and disgust. Her body tenses up as if to strike again.

“Stop!”

**“When I watched you conversing with my sister, I felt I would get mad with anger and unrest...”**

Subaru looked up at her in terror as Rem’s anger grew. 

Ram looked at Rem and clenched her teeth. She started to understand what Subaru had tried to say about them. She looked at the Rem, her sister, torture someone who had cared for her like she meant the world to him. Anger and confusion took up the space in Ram’s mind as the scene continued.

**Someone associated with the one who has caused my sister so much agony, boldly encroaching on the place in which she and I belong…”**

Ram’s face teared up as she heard these words. Her incomplete memories made her mind twist and turn painfully as the memories blanked as she remembered the past. She collapsed to her knees and gripped her head to console herself. Had her memory flowed as easily as her emotions, she could be saved from the pain of her frustration. “I don’t remember!” She angrily whispers to herself.

Subaru looks up in confusion. He didn’t know what to say or do. He saw the sadness she felt, but he also felt the anger, hate, and the will to kill him. 

**“I can’t bear it any longer… even if I know my sister only acts friendly with, and pretends to care for, you!”**

Subaru falls to the ground. The four look to Subaru and questioned if this was the end. He raises his left hand to the sky.

**“I don’t cut my hands when I peel vegetables anymore… I can read and write now, even if it’s just the simple stuff- I kept my word and studied. “**

Tears fell down Subaru’s cheek. Emilia cries as she watches Subaru slowly break.

**“I was able to read those fairy tales… thanks to you two...”**

**“What are you talking about?”**

A cold response was given by Rem. Her hatred still poured out of her tired face.

**“I’m talking about the things you guys gave me.”**

He smiled and looked to Rem.

**“I have no memory of any of that.”**

Beatrice widened her teary eyes. Subaru begins to cry. He sits up, supporting himself with his arms as he looks to Rem. His face switched from sadness and longing, to fury as he spoke his next words.

**“Why don’t you remember!? Why do you all keep leaving me behind!? What did I do to you? What am I supposed to do! What did I do wrong!? WHY DO YOU GUYS HATE ME SO MUCH!?”**

All four looked on in shock at his outburst. All felt his sadness, his fear, his anger, and his pain. They felt his anguish, but none truly understood why he felt so betrayed. All but Beatrice were completely oblivious to his situation, but this knowledge was a double-edged sword for her. She slowly began to understand why Subaru was wailing, and for this, she breaks down in tears.

Emilia’s heart broke slowly as she looked towards Subaru. “Why…” she meekly whispered. There were too many things that needed to be answered; she questioned why Subaru loved her so much, why someone who he cared for so much was torturing him, why they were here to witness this, and most importantly, why was Subaru dying in all these… visions?

**“Even when you said that you’d promise to cut my hair… All that time, I...”**

**“I really liked both of y-”**

A gust of wind slices Subaru’s neck. His body collapses on the floor **.** Subaru’s throat hissed as he breathed. Blood slowly fills his throat. He bleeds and suffocates as Rem stood above him.

**“My Sister is too kind.”**


	6. Chapter 6

**Re:Zero The Viewing**

**Chapter 6**

As Subaru expended his last few breaths, so did the world around him. The once lively forest began to slow down with each breath that he took. A final, shallow exhale was heard from Subaru. The forest dies with him. Before him stood his torturer and killer, forever frozen in her hateful scorn as she looked down at Subaru.

Emilia stared into the scene as if it were an abyss. The immense and overbearing anguish at the sight of such cruelty and betrayal finally had broken whatever strength she had left. As if the trauma that Subaru felt was also inflicted on her, the peacefulness of death had given her a depraved sense of comfort. Her purple eyes stare blankly at Subaru. The tears which fell from Emilia's eyes trailed which came before. No sobbing or crying could be heard. No sound came from Emilia.

Julius tried to speak. He wanted to speak his mind, but the volume and intensity of his thoughts and emotions brought him low; the anger for Subaru's betrayal, the torture in which his friend received, and the most egregious sin he felt: the inability to act. He stood silent. No words came from the knight. He grit his teeth in a futile attempt to rebel against his uselessness.

He turns to Ram. He wanted to let loose of his anger and frustration. He felt the urge to scream and accuse Ram of this terrible outcome. He looked to Ram, ready to unleash his fury which he held onto like a hot coal. The sight of the pink haired maid had halted his attack. A sorrowful look had taken over the once formidable Ram. A dogged sigh, and light taps from the hilt of Julius sword were the only display of emotions that the knight would make.

The small girl looks towards the scene in a frown. She knew that this wasn't the outcome that they all knew, but she feared that this very well may be an outcome which happened - an outcome only Subaru had seen. She shakes her head at the thought. No use. _"why don't you remember!?"_ Subaru's voice still rang in her head. Her fists tighten. Her face wrinkles in frustration. Her theory that Subaru had somehow experienced all of these horrifying ends started to solidify itself as a truth. Subaru's bloodied and scarred arms came into her thoughts. "Don't tell me…" She whispers to herself.

A quiet, quivering question slipped out of Emilia's lips. The question that was on everyone's mind: "Why…"

Emilia continues. "Why would Rem kill him…?"

"It was not the blue one who killed him, I suppose." Beatrice turns to Ram.

All eyes followed. An unfamiliar sight was shown before them. Ram, who had been stalwart for all their journeys, had fallen on her knees. Tears would be seen. Before her, a sister that she desperately tries to remember but couldn't, and a friend who she had betrayed and killed.

"I didn't kill Barusu- neither did my sister! This didn't happen!"

"Back at the mansion, where Subaru's head had been… crushed, a morningstar attached to a long chain was the weapon to end Subaru's life." Julius cringed as he remembered the sight. He had seen the death happen first hand. He saw Subaru's head explode.

"It didn't happen!" Ram shouts, the frustration could be heard from her. "It didn't happen. It couldn't have!" She looked to Subaru, as if to find forgiveness.

"It might have, I suppose." A sharp rebuttal came from Beatrice to spite Ram.

Emilia looked to Beatrice in worry. "There's-" Before she spoke, Julius caught their attention.

"The mountains seem to be disappearing in the distance." Julius pointed to the mountains.

The four looked on at the distance. Soon after, the trees, flowers, and birds started to fade away as light itself dims ever closer to complete darkness. The four could only watch as the world before them crumbled. The once vibrant forest and its striped orange and red tinted sky had succumbed to the blackness. Rem had started to fade into the darkness as well. Ram looked on as her sister would disappear again. Then to Subaru, who would be enveloped by the darkness soon after.

The sound of a door opens. Daylight shines through the door, coaxing the four to walk to it.

"Let's be done with this." muttered Julius, as he walked forward to the door.

Beatrice looked at Ram once more before she followed Julius to the door. Beatrice stared blankly back at her, then to the darkness where Subaru had died. She searched for Subaru in the endless blackness. Nothing. She glanced back to Ram. "There's no point in staying here, I suppose." No other words were exchanged. Beatrice walked towards the door.

"Ram…" Emilia said in a soft, nurturing tone. "I can't imagine what you must be feeling right now." She pauses to think of her words. "But Subaru is alive. He must be… and he definitely would have forgiven you - both of you." Her memories of Subaru's care for Rem through all this time would affirm her speculation. She looks to the defeated Ram. In a stern, almost commanding voice, "Subaru will bring back Rem, and return the memories."

Ram stared into the blackness where her sister once stood. Frustration grew as Ram tried to remember her. Guilt weighed her down at the thought of killing Subaru. She grit her teeth as she clenched her fists. She was powerless. She couldn't do anything but watch as the person she cared for disappeared again. She couldn't help her friend, and was the one to kill him. Tears of frustration fell from Ram.

Emilia and Ram slowly made their way to the door. No words were spoken between them. Emilia looked to Julius and Beatrice, then smiled weakly. She trusted that the two wouldn't lash out at Ram for what happened.

The four stood in the sun lit hallway.

"I know we all have questions…" Emilia spoke nervously. "But let's rest for a while."

"I think now is the best time to ask questions, I suppose." Beatrice huffed. "I need to ask the pink one a few questions."

"Miss Beatrice, now may not be-"

Julius was cut off by Beatrice's stare.

"It has nothing to do with blaming her with the murder of Subaru, I suppose. We've passed that point, and I do not wish to dwell on it, like you three." She paused and looked at the group, then focused on Ram.

"But there is something I must know. Do you recall anything that Subaru said before you murdered him?"

"I didn't kill him." Ram couldn't look at anyone. She looks away from the three.

"Maybe. But that's not the topic I'm referring to. Do you remember teaching Subaru how to read?"

"No, I don't…"

Beatrice's eyebrows narrowed.

"Are you sure?"

Ram turned her head to Beatrice. Her head was tilted down, her eyes fixated on the ground. "I'm sure. He knew how to read and write once he arrived in the mansion."

Beatrice looked intensely at Ram. The answer concerned Beatrice. Something felt off about these events. They were all too real and felt all too plausible.

"Why would you have killed Subaru?"

"I didn't kill Barusu!" Ram yelled at Beatrice. Ram now looked Beatrice in the eyes.

"You've told me that, I suppose. Did Subaru ever appear suspicious at all?"

Ram paused to think of her next words."Yes… he knew the layout of the mansion too well… but I wouldn't have killed him for that!"

"So you would have killed him?"

"No! But… if he posed a danger, then I would have to act…"

"Beatrice, Ram didn't kill Subaru… neither did Rem." Emilia interrupts the interrogation. She tries to calm the tension as she spoke in a soft tone.

"Not in this reality, I suppose." She sharply jabs back at Emilia.

"What do you mean?"

"She may have killed him. But not in this reality, I suppose."

"I'm sorry, but I still don't understand…"

Beatrice lets out a sigh.

"I'm saying that there's a possibility that all of what we saw did happen."

The four stood silent. The horrors that they have seen, and the terrifying and painful ends that Subaru had faced were assumed to be a vision - a nightmare - and nothing more.

Beatrice looked to Emilia. "Did you ever wonder how or why Subaru was so close to you?"

"No… I thought he was just… strange. "

Before Beatrice could ask another question, a door opens at the end of the hallway. The four looked on warily. Just as Julius was about to make the first step, Subaru appears out of the doorway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, thanks for reading and following!
> 
> I've been busy with work and studies for the past few days, and it also seems like the next few weeks will be just as busy. Unfortunately, the chapter releases won't be as frequent as I want it to be.


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